1939
Having dropped out of high school, Hank plays regular gigs in local honky tonks.

1942
October Roy Acuff and Fred Rose form Acuff-Rose Publications.

1943
August Hank meets Audrey Mae Sheppard Guy, aged 21 and married to a serviceman.

1944
December Days after Audreys divorce, she and Hank are married by a Justice of the Peace at a gas station on the way to a gig.

1946
September Hank and Audrey visit Nashville, where they introduce themselves to Fred Rose; Fred signs Hank to a contract within months.

1947
August Hank's first MGM single, Move It On Over, peaks at #4.

1948
May Audrey divorces Hank, but she has it annulled in August.August Hank debuts on the Louisiana Hayride radio program.

1949
May Lovesick Blues becomes Hanks first #1 hit; he will record ten more #1 hits in the next three years, including 2 posthumous #1s.June Hank debuts at the Grand Ole Opry, garnering seven or more curtain calls; the appearance turns Hank into one of the top-drawing artists of the era.

1951
May Hank is hospitalized for an operation on his spine and detoxification.July Hank stars in the Hank Williams Homecoming in Montgomery, supported by the Carter Family and Chet Atkins.August Hank headlines the Hadacol Caravan Medicine Show, co-starring Minnie Pearl, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante and Carmen Miranda.

1952
January Audrey files for divorce a second time.August Hank is fired from the Grand Ole Opry.December Hank agrees to perform on New Years Day; late on New Years Eve, on the drive to the concert, Hank passes away; he was 29.

1953
January An estimated 25,000 people attend Hanks funeral service.